My Bio


 


  Wanda Shum is a B.C. grown artist who was formally trained in Electronic Communication Design at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design.  Since that time, she has been working successfully as an independent artist in a variety of media, and her work has gained recognition for its whimsical quality and attention to detail.

However, for some time, Wanda's favourite medium has been polymer clay, which was a new and exciting material in the media offerings when she first discovered it.  It has taken many years of exploration and experimentation to develop her beautiful 'millefiori' techniques with polymer clay.

 'Millefiori' or 'A Thousand Flowers' is a traditional Venetian glass art form that involves the formation of a cane-like sculpture with fused glass rods that has a pattern throughout.  The modern version of this is created by layering different coloured polymer clays together. Then the cane is sliced to reveal the design within.  Wanda describes 'millefiori' as a combination of painterly skills with sculpting technique. 

Since her initial experimental work, which began over twenty years ago, Wanda has explored and developed multitudes of unique, intricate, and complex polymer clay patterns - no two ever being exactly alike. Her distinct detailed technique can be seen in lines of multicoloured jewellery, glassware, and unique home decor pieces.

Now, her latest and most exciting body of work has lifted this remarkable man-made material well beyond the framework of form and function, and into the realm of the art piece. Wanda has produced a series of beautiful bowls, consisting of dozens of free-floating individually placed pieces, creating dazzling rainbowed half moons.  And - as her heralded showpieces - her remarkable teapots are 'causing a stir'! Not only are they covered with cane slices, but with carved and inlaid clay, together with sculpted flower forms, animals, and whimsical people.  These pieces are already becoming collectors' items. And not before time!